Armenak Alachachian

Armenak Misakovich Alachachian (alternate spellings: Alachachyan, Alatchatchan, Alajajian) (Armenian: Արմենակ Միսակի Ալաջաջյան, December 25, 1930 – December 4, 2017) was an Armenian-Soviet basketball player and coach. During his club playing career, the point guard reached European stardom with CSKA Moscow and the senior men's Soviet Union national team. He was the first person to ever win a EuroLeague title, as both a player and a head coach.

Armenak Alachachian

Personal information
Born	(1930-12-25)25 December 1930 Alexandria, Egypt
Died	4 December 2017(2017-12-04) (aged 87) Toronto, Canada
Nationality	Soviet / Russian / Armenian
Listed height	5 ft 9.25 in (1.76 m)
Listed weight	165 lb (75 kg)
Career information
Playing career	1948–1966
Position	Point guard
Number	6
Coaching career	1966–1970
Career history
Playing
1948–1954	SKIF Yerevan
1955–1957	Burevestnik Almaty
1958–1966	CSKA Moscow
Coaching
1966–1968	CSKA Moscow (assistant)
1968–1970	CSKA Moscow
Career highlights
As player: 2× EuroLeague champion (1961, 1963) 8× USSR Premier League champion (1959—1966) 2× USSR Spartakiad champion (1959, 1963) Master of Sports of the USSR (1953) Honored Master of Sports of the USSR (1961) USSR Order of the Badge of Honor (1965) Gratitude of the President of the Russian Federation (2006) CSKA Moscow Hall of Fame (2013) As head coach: EuroLeague champion (1969) 2× USSR Premier League champion (1969, 1970) Honored Coach of the Russian SSFR (1969)
Medals Men's basketball Representing Soviet Union Summer Olympic Games Tokyo 1964 FIBA EuroBasket USSR 1953 Yugoslavia 1961 Poland 1963 USSR 1965

Club career

Alachachian began his career in 1948, playing for SKIF Yerevan team. In 1955, he moved to Burevestnik Almaty to play alongside the famous giant - Uvais Akhtaev. While he was the team captain, Alachachian helped CSKA Moscow win its first EuroLeague championship in 1961. He added a second EuroLeague championship with CSKA in 1963, and he reached another EuroLerague Final in 1965, before retiring. In total, Alachachian played 5 seasons in EuroLeague, averaging 5.0 points per game and reaching at least the semifinals stage in every of those seasons.

National team career

As a player of the senior men's Soviet national team, Alachachian won four gold medals at the FIBA EuroBasket. As he won the 1953 EuroBasket, the 1961 EuroBasket, the 1963 EuroBasket, and the 1965 EuroBasket. He also won a Summer Olympic Games silver medal, which he won at the 1964 Tokyo Summer Olympics.

Coaching career

Aleksandar Gomelsky, who was at the time CSKA Moscow's sports director, assigned Alachachian to the club's head coach position in 1968. Alachachian would go on to lead the team to the Euroleague championship in 1969. Alachachian thus became the first person to win the title as both a player and a head coach.

2014 Yerevan Youth International Basketball tournament in honor of Armenak Alachachyan

See also

• List of EuroLeague-winning head coaches

External links

• Armenak Alachachian - Biography & career statistics
• FIBA Profile "Armenak Alachachian"
• FIBA Profile "Armenak Alatchatchan"
• Fibaeurope.com Profile
• Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Armenak Alachachian". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 2020-04-18.
• Euroleague.net - Player nominees for Euroleague's 50 Greatest Contributors
• Armenak Alachachian's obituary